Riverton FamilySearch Library FREE Saturday Seminar

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Free Workshops Cover Variety of Family History Topics

Riverton FamilySearch Library to Hold Saturday Seminar on September 18

RIVERTON, UTAH — Both beginners and experienced genealogists can find something of interest at the next Saturday Seminar at the Riverton FamilySearch Library. On September 18, 2010, eight free classes and a keynote speaker will cover a variety of topics, from New FamilySearch to using social media in genealogy.

No registration is required for this three-hour seminar, which runs from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The library will also be open until 5:00 p.m. that day for patrons desiring to do individual family history research. For more information, please visit www.familysearch.org/fhc/riverton.

At 9:00 a.m. the keynote speaker will be Alan Mann from the FamilySearch. In his presentation, “All a Twitter about Wave,” Alan will talk about using technology in new ways, including social media. Following the keynote presentation, there will be two blocks of four classes each that will cover both research and technology.

Classes to be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. are:

·         What Do You Need from Laptop and Smartphone Technology?  – Michael Helmantoler

·         Mid-Atlantic Research – DeAnne Shelley

·         Waypointing: A New Tool for the Online Publication of Genealogical Records – Travis Mecham

·         New FamilySearch: Combining and Separating Duplicate Records – Cathy Anderegg

The classes available from 11:00 a.m. to noon are:

·         Synchronizing Roots Magic Data with new FamilySearch – Sue Maxwell

·         Bits and Pieces: How to Write Your Personal History – Rose Ann Fisher

·         Sourcing Original Documents – Joni Kesler

·         Where to Start on new FamilySearch When Your Genealogy is All Done – Janet Hovorka

Admission is free. The Saturday Seminars will be held on the third Saturday of each month. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

Family History Center at Utah State Prison Thrives

Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a Family History Center at the Utah State Prison and it has been in existence for 20 years. Missionaries are assigned to the prison and they have 58 volunteers who go to the prison to supervise and help the inmates do indexing of microfilmed records. A couple of those volunteers are friends of mine and enjoy the work immensely. These volunteers serve in the prison seven days a week and three shifts a day from 8am to 8pm.

To read more about this inspiring story recently published in the Church News, see "A Rescue From Bondage".

                                                                                       Picture by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Ogden Family History Conference

Here is another FREE way to learn more about family history and genealogy! The Ogden Standard Examiner newspaper published an article about the Ogden Family History Conference being held on Saturday, September 11th at Weber State University. The direct link to the Conference website is here.

Registration begins at 7 AM, the keynote address by Ron Tanner from FamilySearch begins at 9 AM and classes begin at 10 AM and will continue through 4 PM.

A sampling of classes being taught are new FamilySearch; helps for Consultants and Priesthood leaders; Finding Your Female Ancestors; Genealogy software classes; other technology; English, Scottish, Irish and Danish research;  documentation and sourcing; basic computers; and writing, scanning, and publishing your family history. So you can see there is something for everyone!  Click on the link above

It's time for the UVPAFUG Saturday meeting and training classes!

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 11 Sep 2010, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.

The main presentation for this meeting will be by George R. Ryskamp on CONNECTING NEW FAMILYSEARCH ANCESTORS WITH ORIGINAL RECORDS. This will be a discussion of how to use the clues you've found in New FamilySearch to connect with original records and find new ancestral family members. George R. Ryskamp, JD, AG®, is an attorney, author, and Associate Professor of History at BYU. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and a regular lecturer at National and International conferences. He is an accredited genealogist specializing in Spanish language research and United States probate and legal systems and has, each year for twelve years, taken groups of students to Spain, France and/or Italy to learn first hand how to research in archives. George is a popular speaker and is the Director of the Lindon FHC. He will be sharing the benefit of his experience with New FamilySearch. His Curriculum Vitae is posted at http://history.byu.edu/Assets/FacultyVitasPics/ryskamp.pdf 

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows: (1) Using Multimedia with PAF, by Bret Petersen; (2) Personalized Help with NFS and PAF, by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen; (3) Genealogy on the MAC: Q & A, by Roger Lehr; (4) Q&A on Connecting to Original Records, by George Ryskamp; (5) Video of last month's main presentation: Answers From FamilySearch Wiki and Forums, by Kara Wahlquist; (6) Ancestral Quest: Uploading and Revising Data Between PAF and New FamilySearch, by Merlin Kitchen; (7) Legacy, by Dean Bennett; and (8) RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell. There will be no FamiliyInsight Class this month.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

FREE Training in Utah and Salt Lake Counties!

So much to learn, so little time! But, I'm trying to make it a little easier by letting you know what training is available in and around these valleys. Check out the calendar at the bottom of this blog.

I have started adding the training classes for the Riverton FamilySearch Library, their Saturday Seminars held every 3rd Saturday each month, the Family History Library in downtown Salt Lake, and the Utah Valley PAF Users Group (UVPAFUG) in Provo held the 2nd Saturday each month (except December).

There is a direct link to their training pages just above the calendar so you can double check me or look for last minute changes. But I'm listing all the classes on one calendar.

If you know of other FREE training available in either county please let me know and I'll add those to the calendar also. As you can see, there is training available almost every day so don't waste one precious minute of your time! Start learning today!

Immigration Records FREE at Ancestry this week!

Ancestry.com's Immigration and Naturalization Collection is free through September 6, 2010. Here's the link: http://www.ancestry.com/immigration